This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 from my application POWER CONNECTOR OF A DC MICROWAVE OVEN filed with the Korean Industrial Property Office on Mar. 31, 2000 and there duly assigned Ser. No. 17038/2000.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a DC microwave oven, and more particularly, to a power connector for a DC microwave oven, which enables DC power cords having applied thereto a high current to be connected to a component inside the DC microwave oven in such a way as to accomplish maximum surface contact, thereby improving connectability of the power cords and minimizing power loss through the power cords.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in a microwave oven, AC power which is supplied from a utility AC power source, is transformed into a high voltage and then, is used to drive a magnetron. Microwaves which are produced in the magnetron and have a high frequency, are radiated toward a food, and the food is cooked by heat which is generated by radiation of the microwaves.
In such an AC microwave oven, there is defined a device chamber. A high voltage transformer for driving the magnetron and a magnetron driving circuit which comprises a plurality of micro-switches for controlling an operation of the high voltage transformer, are disposed in the device chamber of the AC microwave oven. The high voltage transformer and the magnetron driving circuit operate by receiving utility AC power from the outside through a power connector.
Due to the fact that the power connector for the AC microwave oven is configured so as to receive a low current in view of AC power of 100V or 220V, power cords are not so thick that terminal connection works of the power cords can be implemented in a convenient manner.
On the other hand, recently, a DC microwave oven which uses DC power, has been disclosed in the art to allow a user to conveniently cook a food in mobile means such as a motor vehicle or in an outdoor field. In order to receive from a DC power source such as a battery DC voltage which is used in such a DC microwave oven, power cords each of which has a cross-sectional area of no less than 22 mm2, must be used and connected to the DC power source such as a battery, so as to stand a high current of 80A to 100A in a sufficient manner.
However, on the contrary to the fact that, in the DC microwave oven, bare wires of the power cords which are connected to the DC power source and have the cross-sectional area of no less than 22 mm2, should be connected to the DC microwave oven with sufficient surface contact, because a power connector for connecting the thick power cords with sufficient surface contact is not disclosed in the art at the present stage, connectability of the power cords which are led from the DC power source, is deteriorated, whereby power loss is increased and a dangerous situation can occur in the course of using the DC microwave oven.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a power connector for a DC microwave oven, which enables power cords led from a DC power source having applied thereto a high current to be connected to a component inside the DC microwave oven in such a way as to accomplish maximum surface contact, thereby improving connectability of the power cords and minimizing power loss through the power cords.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a power connector for a DC microwave oven, suitable for connecting power cords which are led from a DC power source and have positive and negative polarities, respectively, to a component arranged in a device chamber which is defined in a body of the DC microwave oven, the power connector comprising: a connector body fixedly secured to a rear plate of the body of the DC microwave oven; power terminals for positive and negative polarities, the power terminals projecting into the device chamber from a rear surface of the connector body; and power cord connecting means projecting from a front surface of the connector body, for enabling the power cords which are led from the DC power source and have positive and negative polarities, to be connected thereto, respectively.
By the features of the present invention, in the case that AWG4 power cords which are led from a DC power source such as a battery and each of which has a cross-sectional area of 22 mm2, are connected to a component which is arranged in a device chamber of a DC microwave oven, it is possible to realize a power connector which accomplishes maximum surface contact and reliable connection of the power cords each having a substantial thickness, whereby connectability of the power cords is improved and power loss through the power cords is minimized.